Region/Diamond Citadel

Diamond Citadel is a medium-sized region, with a thriving community of 21 nations and only 6 World Assembly Members. It was founded on 1st of February in 2016.

History

1451 - 1801

The remote lands of Diamond Citadel were once mostly uninhabited except for a few barbaric peoples. However, this all changed in 1451 when the grandest ancestor of our current king, Giuseppe I arrived from the far country of The North Pacific which was a great power in the world then. Giuseppe, at an elderly age of 45, conquered the peoples in the land which they called Trinley. This was a mountainous land and thus the original inhabitants lived underground. When Giuseppe went underground he conquered them by means of careful diplomacy and a promise of a mutualistic relationship. Giuseppe kept this promise and appointed his own people and the original inhabitants in top positions in his new government.

Giuseppe had a son, bore to him from the womb of the native Queen Nurul Syifa I. This son, Aethelwick I, left the confines of Trinley to explore the wide plains in Diamond Citadel. In the year 1491, at the age of thirty-five, Aethelwick set up his own kingdom in the plains. He set it up across various tributaries which flowed out of Trinley’s main river, Fleet river. He thus called his kingdom Incorporated Fleet Tributaries.

By this time, Giuseppe at the age of 85, had already mined the deep caverns of Trinley which was rich in diamonds. To show his immense wealth, Giuseppe built a citadel towering out of the deep caverns and almost into space. This citadel is fabled to have once had over 1000 floors, most of which were destroyed by the civil war which will be mentioned later. He called this tower Diamond Citadel.

Giuseppe, at 85, was increasingly frail and unable to manage daily affairs of the great nation of Trinley. So, in 1492, at 86, Giuseppe ordered his doctors to bring his life to an end. Aethelwick, the only logical heir to the throne was crowned as king of Trinley and Incorporated Fleet Tributaries. The two kingdoms were officially joined in the next year with the Act of Union 1493 forming the region of Diamond Citadel.

Gradually other leaders came into the greater region that Diamond Citadel was in. Aethelwick’s son, Mede I of Diamond Citadel married Princess Nurul Syifa, the daughter of Prince Produs and Princess Nurul Syifa I of the Rajkot Protectorated Principality in 1542. Aethelwick died later in that year and Mede and Nurul Syifa were crowned King and Queen of all Diamond Citadel as Mede I and Nurul Syifa II at only twenty years old. In five years’ time, Prince Produs died, leaving a son twenty years his sister’s junior, 5 years old, to run the kingdom. Since Princess Nurul Syifa I had not been in good health, she could not step in as regent and a Privy Council met to decide the Principality’s future. Prime Minister Atlee decided at the council that the Principality should be incorporated into Diamond Citadel while maintaining a level of sovereignty.

This worked well for twenty years. Mede I and Nurul Syifa II ruled with even hands on their people, massively boosting industry and agriculture in the Principality. Soon, the Principality, double the size of Trinley and Incorporated Fleet Tributaries combined, grew into the power generator of the region. Diamond Citadel was running off it. Prince Prodian, Nurul Syifa’s younger brother was now twenty-five and an elderly Atlee was regretting his decision at the Privy Council. As a result, he urged the Prince to seek full independence from Diamond Citadel. Of course, the Principality had the capability to run its own economy but the bureaucracy was based in Diamond Citadel, Trinley’s capital. Also, the region would be crippled if the Principality left. Nurul Syifa II, realised this and saw the Principality as her birthright. So, in 1568, 21 years since the Principality had joined, Nurul Syifa II declared the official union of the Principality with Diamond Citadel. Prodian was shocked at this and quickly responded. With the support of the people, he began a war on Trinley and the Incorporated Fleet Tributaries. The Principality largely overpowered the region and was winning the ‘civil war’. For ten years, the war was sustained and the capital of Trinley lay in tatters. The Diamond Citadel, the jewel of the region, was bombed severely by suicide bombers from the Principality. The fabled 2433 floors were reduced to a mere 500 floors.

Mede, seeing this disastrous situation, sought help from abroad. In 1575, he appealed to the powerful neighbouring Queendom of joint Queensburgh and Provocation. The Queen responded quickly, sending her whole army to Diamond Citadel’s aid. Prodian was driven back to the Principality’s capital of Rajkot. The people in Rajkot were indeed aware of the current events. Seeing their near loss, they quickly switched sides and captured Prodian and handed him to Mede I and Nurul Syifa II. In 1578, the war ended with an agreement reached on both sides. Mede and Nurul Syifa would continue to rule the alliance of three nations which made the region of Diamond Citadel while a pardoned Prodian would become the king of a region just west of Trinley. This region was a cluster of principalities under the suzerainty of Diamond Citadel. It was agreed that the Principalities would remain just that except, under the union banner called the United Sultanate of Principalities. Prodian would be king of the new country.

History repeated itself, almost, in 1600, when King Prodian died of a stroke. Mede had died two years earlier and Nurul Syifa II ruled as Queen at the age of 78 in 1600. Prodian had meanwhile remained childless. The problem of succession rose again and the Council of Principalities met in 1601 to decide the future of the nation. It was decided that a provisional government would rule the United Sultanate of Principalities. This would be made up of the Council of Principalities. However, this failed as there were over 50 principalities and it was difficult to reach consensus on even one issue. So, in 1602, the head of the council, Prince Valastar of Vendor, met with Queen Nurul Syifa II, being the last of kin left of Prodian. At this meeting called the Vendor Conference, it was decided that the United Sultanate of Principalities would be incorporated into Diamond Citadel.

This made Diamond Citadel a union of four nations: Trinley, Incorporated Fleet Tributaries [south of Trinley], The Rajkot Protectorated Principality [east of Trinley] and the United Sultanate of Principalities [west of Trinley]. Queen Nurul Syifa II died in 1612, at the age of 90, and was succeeded by her elderly son, King Fabastrius I, 60, of Diamond Citadel.

Trinley had effectively conquered all its surrounds except to the north of it. In the north was the powerful Queendom of joint Queensburgh and Provocation, ruled by Queen Marion IV of Queensburgh. Relations between Diamond Citadel and the Queendom were strained after the Queendom has attempted to invade Diamond Citadel when the Queen had died and was replaced by Fabastrius I. The Queendom attempted to take advantage of the temporary disorder which Diamond Citadel found itself in. Poor military tactics on the part of the Queendom as well as severe snowfall in Diamond Citadel’s winter meant that the invasion was doomed and relations were soured.

Fabastrius would not sit complacently after the insult which had disrupted his coronation. In 1614, after building the army using conscription, Diamond Citadel struck the Queendom in her weak province of Provocation. Provocation, an agricultural area, quickly fell and nothing stood in the Citadel’s way to Queensburgh. Queensburgh also fell being unable to withstand the 200 million invaders armed with the most advanced arms. The new lands of Queensburgh and Provocation were added to the union in 1616 after the two-year war. The Queen Marion was stripped of her titles and made Governor of Queensburgh and Provocation. Diamond Citadel was now an alliance of six nations.

All had gone well from 1616 until 1801. Four successive kings had ruled Diamond Citadel. Fabastrius ruled from 1612 until 1619 and died at age 67. He was succeeded by his son, Fabastrius II who ruled from 1619 until 1640 and died at age 51. Fabastrius II was succeeded by his son, Giuseppe II who ruled from 1640 until 1690 and died at age 75. Giuseppe was succeeded by his son, Mede II who ruled from 1690 until 1740 and died at age 82. Mede was succeeded by his son, Fabastrius III who ruled from 1740 until 1799 and died at age 79. Each of this kings had wives all named Nurul Syifa as had become the custom. Fabastrius III wife was Nurul Syifa VII.

Fabastrius was succeeded by Nurul Syifa VII in 1799. This Queen, aged only 49 was a tale around the world. She was known for her promiscuity and spendthrift nature. So, when she took the reins of the Diamond Citadel, the region began to falter.

1801 - 1980

The region’s powerhouse, The Rajkot Protectorated Principality was under the governorship of Grand Duke Rahul. Grand Duke Rahul could see that the Queen’s lavish court life was destroying the economy and affecting his own powerful dominion.

The Grand Duke, to fix this, started a revolution in 1801. This revolution appealed to most people in the region. As a result, the Queen was quickly overthrown and exiled, with her son Prince Aethelwick, to neighbouring Dal Perivor. The Grand Duke ascended the Diamond Throne. But everything changed just then. The Grand Duke ruled in a dictatorial way, pushing his people to reach economic success. But he cared little for the welfare of the people. Also, afraid of the supporters of the previous monarchy, he got many of them imprisoned, put on mock trials and then sentenced to death. It was estimated that over 500 million people were killed during the Grand Duke’s reign.

The Grand Duke died in 1865 at the age of 80 after 64 long years of rule. He was succeeded by his son, Prince Maximillian. Maximillian’s rule was not any less difficult. A further 675 million people were killed building canals, in the mines below Trinley and in the icy mountains in Queensburgh which was rich in oil. Maximillian’s reign of terror was characterised as a military state wherein the police and thus the government had supreme power and many people did not return home after a day’s work as they ‘went missing’ or were being ‘detained’ for questioning. Of course, none of these ever returned home. Maximillian ruled until 1910 when he died at age 92. He was succeeded by his son, Florian. Florian was unlike his predecessors and sought to deMaximise the nation by erasing traces of the past. This proved futile for Florian was too weak a leader to actually stand up to his advisors who held the real power and were much like Rahul and Maximillian. The reign of terror continued. An estimated 350 million people were killed under Florian. The rule of the three Princes of Rajkot was called the Rajkot Regime. During this time, a total of 1.525 billion people died. Most of these people’s bodies were never laid to rest in peace.

In 1978, Florian’s rulership lay in tatters. He was 98 and almost dead. As a result, the bureaucracy fought for supremacy but none succeeded. Meanwhile, the monarchy in exile was gathering power. In 1980, Florian died and the monarchy seized the opportunity and returned. The King was crowned King Aethelwick II and his wife Queen Nurul Syifa VIII.

1980 - Present

King Aethelwick erased the past and restored Diamond Citadel to her former glory. The Citadel was rebuilt to its 2000 floors and the Rajkot Regime was totally eradicated through a systemic procedure of trials and convictions for war crimes. The almost 200-year-old regime was gone and Diamond Citadel began her expansion all across the north of the world. Many new lands such as Uplax, Triostesia, Fairstone and Acrevennia joined the union. This alliance became known as the Northern Alliance of which the Diamond Citadel King is the Head.

His Majesty King Aethelwick II died an unfortunate death in December 2015 when he fell from his library stairs. His thirty-five-year reign was characterised by rapid reform and reconciliation. He died at age 64. The current King Rahul I, the unfortunate namesake of the founder of the Rajkot Regime, was crowned in February 2016 and established the region as it is known today.

In the most recent history, the King has had many disagreements with top government officials, causing them to leave and form a new region of their own, Ordo Imperialis. This is specifically due to the King's desire to unduly take part in political affairs, despite the region being a constitutional monarchy. In December 2016, the King’s consort, Nurul Syifa IX, disappeared. After extensive searches for her, and a lot of resources poured into the search, the Queen was still missing. As a result of this discord, the Citadel fell into chaos.

In a desperate attempt to salvage his realm, the King attempted to merge with Koronia, a faraway kingdom, and the GIA, a massive union of regions, but all of these mergers failed. This was partly due to miscommunication and the King’s reluctance to negotiate on certain issues, particularly regarding the fact that he saw the mergers as a loss of his sovereignty. These mergers further drained the region of its power. Before long, top government officials; Prime Ministers, Home Secretaries, Foreign Secretaries, and Treasurers; abandoned the region. By May 2017, all that was left of the region were three veterans; the leader of the massive colony of Aranov, the Prime Minister, and the King.

It was then that the King decided to act fast. An immigration programme was set up to encourage growth in the region, and the embassy and talks with the Cretanja Queendom under Queen Rolinna was swiftly resumed.

Despite this, the Cretanja Queendom suffered an attempted coup and fell into disarray. The King acted swiftly to help protect his great ally, and the crisis was averted. Despite this, the region fell into disarray, the Queen has been exiled and the rule of anarchy is prevalent. During all of this, the King was secretly approached by the conspirator who has initiated the coup. He, Altonus, had been banished from the Queendom. Yet, this did not stop him from malevolently trying to manipulate the King in order to once again gain power in the Queendom.

To do so, he posed as someone who was merely trying to preserve democracy in the Queendom. He claimed that the steps he took were necessary after Langor Veikont (of the Union of Confederate Regions) had tried to integrate the Queendom into his Confederate by offering to make Altonus leader. In addition, he claimed that upon his ascendance to the premiership after the elections, that Queen Rolinna informed him of a secret set of laws which would give her unlimited control, and the power to limit the freedoms of others in the Queendom. He claimed to later have found out that Veikont worked with regions only to secretly undermine them afterwards.

Despite this, Altonus claimed to have sought the help of Veikont in making sure democracy prevailed. Naturally Veikont denied this proposition, being loyal to the Crown. Desperate to make a power grab, Altonus won the elections, exiled the Queen and took power. Luckily, the influence of Veikont and Amanda Price (who had once been long-time Prime Minister) were still intact. Using this, they deposed Altonus and banished him. In spite of this, the King believed Altonus, somewhat, and set up the Diamond Citadel Intelligence Service to investigate the claims made by Altonus. He investigated a friend of Altonus, Clegorance, who was supposedly also after Veikont.

The King, after investigating the claims, began to believe Altonus. To ensure his continued anonymity in these matters, and to protect himself in case something went wrong, the King quietly approached the government of Cretanja (under Price and the regent, Dundulan) and encouraged them to close their borders to all, including Veikont. This would ensure that any forces, good or malevolent, would not harm the Queendom. After continued contact with Altonus, Veikont, and Clegorance, the King discovered that Altonus had in fact misled him. Private correspondence between Altonus and Veikont showed that Altonus approached Veikont asking for his help in overthrowing the Queen in return for Cretanja’s subservience to the Confederate. Veikont denied his offer, and revealed it to the people.

However, even though the King had discovered the truth, the Queen refused to come out of exile for a long time, and the Queendom was constantly attacked by foreign invaders under the command of Altonus. Diamond Citadel stood by the Prime Minister, Amanda Price, as she grappled with ensuring the region’s safety, despite her dwindling influence. Because of this deterioration, the King, and emissaries from other great regions including the Confederate, encouraged the Prime Minister to abandon the region. This she did, restarting the Queendom in a new location, this time heavily protected. The Queen soon returned from exile and took her place in the leadership. However, disaster soon struck again when the Queen went missing. Despite all of this, the King has maintained a warm relationship with perhaps his oldest ally.

Meanwhile, back in the King’s realms, things were prosperous. He took increased measures to ensure the security of the realm. Despite this, order had returned to the Citadel.

In June 2017, the first general election was held. The Great Collectivist Party defeated the Conservative Party in a stunning victory. Following this, Xanoth Vore of Igmoria became Prime Minister, and former Prime Minister Alex Ashley and former Lord Chancellor Michael Harrison were honoured with life peerages.

Under Xanoth Vore, the region was at its highest point in history. The new government had a whole new lineup of laws it wished to enforce, the most prominent of which, the Tightening Borders Act, radically changed the region's immigration policy.

And while all seemed well, the King was again malevolently influenced, this time, by a member of his own government, Sir Robert Winston, Deputy Prime Minister, Home Secretary, and Speaker of the House of Commons. Naturally, Sir Robert was ambitious. In this, he manoeuvred his way into the King’s favour, and thereby into key government positions. After this, he disposed of the former Prime Minister and later of Xanoth Vore. In both cases he utilised manufactured evidence pointing to the guilt of the two leaders.

With the Lord Chancellor, Sir Robert eventually climbed his way to power, ridding the region of all dissident. Following this, the King was so blinded by him that he handed him all the power in the Citadel, making him Regent. With unlimited power, Lord Harrison and Sir Robert passed a series of restrictive laws, tightening their grip on power, and enriching themselves in the process. All the while, the King enjoyed his lavish lifestyle, blind to the destruction of the realm.

It was only a matter of time before the two power hungry men tried to gain the upper hand. And, this they did. Lord Harrison and Sir Robert got into a frightful encounter after which Lord Harrison chose to exile himself from the realms. And, Sir Robert, smugly, continued as supreme leader. However, Sir Robert realised what he had done. In his quest for power, he had obliterated the population and the government. The leader of nothing, he decided to step down from the premiership. The King took back his royal power and the Citadel once again fell into discord.

Not long after, the King returned from what had been a lengthy absence. Steadfastly determined to properly return his realm to its glory under the greatest King Guiseppe, King Rahul banished Sir Robert, and all other members from the realm. He reopened the border, once again initiating a robust immigration programme.

At present, the King, the lone survivor of all the turmoil, continues to recruit leaders as he attempts to return the Citadel to her former glory.

Government and Law

The government of Diamond Citadel consists of five branches:

• His Majesty's Personal Office
• The Legislature
• The Executive
• The Judiciary
• His Majesty's Ministry of Defence and Justice

All five branches are interrelated, and along with the citizens of the region, are subject to the laws of the land, comprised of the following element:

• The Royal Charter
• The Legal Code
• The Bill of Rights
• Acts of Parliament

These laws act as a check on government, ensuring the prevalence of democracy and respect for the institution of the monarchy. As such, the region identifies as a constitutional monarchy.

His Majesty's Personal Office

This is the branch from which all authority in the land is derived. Membership is open to an exclusive few, like the monarch, the heir apparent, the Lord Chamberlain, and the Treasurer. Much of the power of the office is derived from the Monarch: "the fount of honour". No law may be passed without the Royal Assent of the Monarch. The Monarch retains the privilege to grant peerages - effectively giving him/her control of the House of Lords. The Monarch can also exercise various other executive power, subject to parliamentary approval.

The Legislature

The legislature of the Diamond Citadel is comprised of a bicameral parliamentary system. The upper house is the House of Lords, and the lower house is the House of Commons. For legislation to pass, it must be passed through both houses, and must receive Royal Assent.

House of Commons

The lower house of DC is where most of the power in the region is. Most of the cabinet come from the Commons. The House of Commons is elected by proportional representation of political parties every 1 month. All legislation is first passed through the House of Commons. It is led by the Speaker of the House of Commons.

House of Lords

The upper house of DC is comprised of an exclusive membership: hereditary and life peers, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Lord Justices. It is led by the Lord Speaker of the House of Lords. All legislation must pass this House to receive Royal Assent. The House of Lords thus has the privilege of vetoing legislation up to three times. In doing so, the House acts as check on the House of Lords that is independent of the electorate.

The Executive

This body is made up of the cabinet and the Governor-General, and all their staff. The cabinet is led by the Prime Minister who is chosen by the Monarch as the leader best able to command a majority in the House of Commons. The other members of the cabinet, the Secretaries of State for Foreign Affairs, the Home Office, and Culture, as well as the Lord Chancellor, are chosen by the Prime Minister from members of the House of Commons. The Governor-General is the Monarch's representative to the cabinet and to parliament and has the right to exercise royal prerogative.

The Judiciary

This is the sole court in the land, chaired by the Lord Justices. It hears cases of law, and passes judgement to that effect. To this end, it holds all the other branches of government accountable while remaining independent of politics. It also holds apprehenders of the law to account. As such, it is effectively the guardian of the laws of Diamond Citadel.

HM Ministry of Defence and Justice

This is the body which acts as the 'policing force' of the region - prosecuting and investigating apprehenders of the law. It is a council of ten members and is chaired by the Lord Chancellor. Pursuant to law, it retains some key powers, though to a limit, such as the right to ban and eject nations.

Current Government

The current government, led by Sir Robert Winston of Gillardium as Prime Minister, is largely made up of the Regional Progressive Party which gained power in the June 2017 General Election. It is a government that has ambitiously set out to grow activity in the region, while maintaining a strong border. They plan to accomplish through a mixture of legislation that would create and regulate a military force, while tightening the borders by maintaining strict regulations for citizenship. The most recent act passed, the 'Tightening Borders Act', was introduced by the then Home Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister, Sir Robert Winston, to achieve these goals. At present, Emperor Magus Daemon of Nova Roma acts as Lord Chancellor and Foreign Secretary.